Wings of Freedom
by Bou2
Summary: Raven celebrates her 80th birthday at Mal's bar with her friends Kate, Xanthos, Violet, Cassandra and Maxine. They run into a minor conflict on their way home and Raven develops a new vampiric power. Based on "The Roaring Girl" by Samantha Zell - yet to be published.


Raven slung her arm over Kate's shoulders as the six of them stumbled through the streets of Toowoomba, laughing, cheeks flushed from alcohol. It was Raven's 80th birthday - she was wearing a baggy black t-shirt with "80 years young" emblazoned on the front in big, white letters - and they'd hit Mal's bar. _Hard._

"No, seriously, how much did you DRINK?!" Cassandra just about leapt over Maxine in excitement. Maxine's face twisted as she struggled not to drop her partner.

Raven chuckled, leaning into Kate for support. "I lost count after the twentieth bottle of Absinth and six bottles of Jaeger..." She hiccupped silently. She could hold her liquor pretty well, and age certainly helped with that, but she was going to need to sleep in a bathtub for two days at least. Good thing she'd stocked up on B Positive (a pun she enjoyed too much - you are what you eat, right?) before they went and inflated Mal's revenue into the next week.

Xanthos let out a burp as he and Violet shuffled along a few metres behind them. The group broke into snickers.

"Well done, sweetie." Violet giggled, patting him on the back. His stubble tickled and scratched her face gently as he kissed her cheek.

"Aawwwwww" the four chimed as the young couple blushed, Violet hiding behind her long, brown hair.

"Oh man…" Raven exhaled loudly. "I could really go for a fat, unmilked cow right about now."

"Again? Seriously?" Maxine piped up. "You've been scoffing down steaks and chugging milk like an addict for weeks now - I was waiting for you to get bored and start making smoothies... I thought your weird cravings had finally stopped?"

"Yeah, so you could finally stop hogging the shower." Xanthos stopped to burp again, covering his mouth with his fist. "Seriously dude, how often does one person even need to clean themselves?"

"It's not my fault though! If I didn't shower at least three times a day, I would've ruined my bed with all the shit I've been... _exuding_."

"Well maybe if you stopped_ eating_-"

"I've been drinking blood 'til I'm red in the face and I'm still so unbearably hungry. I've got no idea what's up with me lately. All I know is I'm _hungry_."

Raven's stomach grumbled loudly. She motioned at it with her free hand. "See?! Since when does a Vampire make that noise?"

The group shuffled on, uncomfortable looks about their faces.

Kate looked down at her friend's abdomen in childlike awe. "Are you pregnant?" She whispered, eyes wide.

Raven held back her laughter. "Yeah, I probably am. Would explain why I'm eating so much."

"Is it mine?!" Kate exclaimed excitedly - the rest of the group shushing her and reminding her what time it was.

Raven let out a chuckle, kissing her on the temple. "Sure, honey. It's yours."

"Wahey!" She threw her arms up in victory; Raven just barely dodged an inevitable punch. The two laughed as the rest of the group shushed them again.

As the group rounded a corner under a blown street light, Raven suddenly collapsed to her knees - world spinning from the alcohol as she slid out of Kate's arms. The blonde snickered, crouching down beside her friend to pick her back up. "Maybe you're not as good at holding your drink as you th-" Raven screamed in pain, clinging to Kate for support. Her spine felt like it was being crushed under a boulder. But, sort of... on the inside. Kate's eyes widened in fear as she heard bones snapping loudly. "Raven?!"

The other four turned and rushed to Raven's side. "She hasn't been tagged, has she?" Maxine asked Kate, trying to keep her worry at bay.

"N-No, I don't think so..." Kate's voice shook. Raven yelled through gritted teeth. Had she been hit by something? She didn't think so. It certainly didn't feel like something any kind of anti-vampiric weapon she'd ever encountered before could do.

"Uh... guys..." Xanthos swallowed nervously, noticing the fabric of Raven's shirt moving, pulling taught like something was trying to get out. Violet and Cassandra covered their mouths at the sight - Violet felt like she was going to be sick. Maxine, considering how much she needed another drink, did her best to keep it together and be the voice of reason.

"Guys, we really need to get home before the Sun starts coming up. Raven, can you stand?" Raven responded with another loud grunt of pain, her shirt ripping loudly. Two long holes opened up down the insides of her shoulder blades, bones and flesh pushing their way outwards, nerves and tissue wrapping around each other as new shapes formed.

"Bro, what the fuck is up with your back..." Xanthos muttered, uneasily.

Maxine let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding. "Kate, you carry Raven and... Kate!" Kate snapped her eyes away from her friend's back to look up at Maxine, tears forming in her eyes.

Maxine put a hand on Kate's shoulder. "Kate, I need you to focus, okay?" Kate sniffed, nodding quickly.

"Good girl. You're going to have to carry Raven home, but make sure you don't impale yourself on whatever is growing out of her spine, okay?"

"What's wrong with her?" Kate choked back sobs.

"I don't know, but whatever it is we can deal with it once we get home." Maxine stood, the rest of the group following suit. Kate scooped Raven up in her arms bridal-style, making sure her new joints were facing away from everyone, worry eating away at her as Raven clung to her shoulders roughly, still grunting loudly in pain.

Walking quickly, the group rounded another corner. They were almost able to make out their driveway in the distance when a fireball exploded against the concrete. Maxine reacted quickly, shoving Cassandra into a nearby alleyway - Xanthos and Violet following them without thinking.

"What the hell was that?!" Cassandra exclaimed from between Maxine and the wall she'd been pushed against.

"I have no idea." Violet clutched at her chest.

Xanthos looked around. "Where's Kate?"

Another fireball exploded against the bitument. The four looked quickly out to the street. Raven was crumpled up in the middle of the road, still wailing in agony, her new body parts already grown past a metre in length. Kate was out of sight.

The group scrambled out of the alleyway before being forced to jump back - red hot flames cutting them off.

"You lot stay out of this. My beef's with him."

"YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER!" Kate launched herself at the guy's back, grabbing solid fistfuls of his flaming red hair.

The man yelled in pain before throwing her off. Kate hit the brick wall spine first, almost winding herself as she fell to the ground. Everything popped back into place almost immediately.

Standing, she rubbed her hands on her pants. "Eewww..." How much hair gel did the guy need... was it really necessary to make his hair look like fire?

Flamehead approached Raven. "You really think you can get away with- oof!" Kate kicked him across the street.

"I said, stay away from her." Her voice dripped venom, fists clenched. The man chuckled, a few things popping back into place as he lifted himself up.

"Your girlfriend's a hoot!" He looked over at Raven, sneering at how pathetic she looked. Something was certainly fucking with her spine.

"Oh my God... Are those..." Violet whispered. They could barely see over the bright flames keeping them cornered in the alleyway, but she could have sworn it looked like Raven had grown featherless wings.

The guy made another move towards Raven. Kate stood between him and her friend.

"Why are you defending him, sweetheart?" He looked back to Kate. "He's been hitting on my girlfriend all night!"

Raven groaned through clenched teeth from her spot on the road as she tried to sit up. Her skin felt like it was attempting to pass rocks.

"Look, I was flirting with a lot of people tonight... I'm sorry if one of them happened to be your girlfrie-"

"Do you really think I give a shit about your pathetic apologies right now, mate?"

"Okay then, which one was your girlfriend? Was she the little blonde thing with hazel eyes or the tall, Amazonian queen with the sash around her waist?"

"Don't screw with me!" He fumed, arms poised to launch more fire. Kate tackled him for all she was worth, wrestling him against the bitument.

"Argh, GET OFF ME!" He wormed his legs between them and kicked Kate away. She fell hard against the bitument, winding her as she rolled a few metres before collapsing in a crumpled heap, barely conscious.

"Nghnn..."

Raven huffed as the pain slowly started to fade, looking up just in time to see flamehead shoot a fireball at the blonde.

"NO!" She kicked against the ground, zooming past the pyrokinetic vampire and swooping Kate into her arms, crashing into the footpath on the other side of the road. Not a moment later, the flames collided with the ground where Kate had been, scorching the bitument.

Raven huffed from the adrenaline, pulling herself up from on top of her friend. Kate rolled over, looking up at her with wide eyes and 'You're okay!' written all over her face as small injuries zipped themselves up. Raven chuckled between puffs, resting her forehead against Kate's shoulder, relieved that her best friend was okay.

Kate turned her head, noticing it was awfully dark. She reached out blindly, feeling feathers. Raven shuddered at the sensation. She looked up to see Kate's hand gently stroking what looked like a large, black wing. Following its shape with her eyes, Raven's hand flew to her back, shivering again as she felt where her wings connected to her shoulders. Her eyes widened in disbelief. Wings. She had wings.

"Oh my God!" Kate just about jumped over her friend, hands going over her shoulders to feel where feathers and skin joined. Raven shuddered and moaned from the contact. "Nh-No… don't..." Dammit, they were so sensitive.

"You think you can just ignore me?!" The redhead fumed, storming across the road.

"Gus, that's enough!" A petite girl with a Japanese accent walked under the glow of a street light. Kate looked over Raven's shoulders to get a better look at her.

Her eyes glowed blue - _very_ unnatural for anyone of her ethnicity - and her black hair came past her shoulders in two long plaits, glowing almost blue under the low light. Even after all their drinking earlier, Kate could tell the girl smelled like fresh springs. _A water nymph, perhaps?_

"Not now, Mizuki. I'm about to beat this guy to a pulp!"

"Oh no you're not! Do I have to spray you again?"

Gus scowled. He wasn't keen on getting drenched more than once.

Raven pulled herself to her feet, picking Kate up as she did. "Whoa wait, _she's_ your girlfriend?"

"Yeah, why? You not so good at remembering the women you chat up, punk?"

Raven raised her hands defensively, Kate hiding behind her wings. "No, no, it's not that. It's just that I didn't flirt with her at all."

Gus' nostrils flared. "_What_?"

"I just bought her a drink and we talked for a while – scout's honour."

"I'll tell you where you can shove your scout's honour, mate. You-"

"He congratulated us on our anniversary and then we shared funny stories, you big lump."

Gus looked back to Mizuki, brows furrowed as he considered the situation. He looked back to Raven, a critical look in his eyes. "Is that true?"

"Yes, I swear! I could smell you all over her - I can tell when a dame's settled."

Gus looked to the ground, frowning. Mizuki sighed.

"Come on, let's get you home before the Sun comes up and fries you to a crisp." She put an arm around her boyfriend. "I'm sorry for the trouble he caused you guys. You'd best head home, too."

She smiled at Raven. "It was nice to meet you, Raven."

Raven returned the smile and waved them off. "You too, Mizuki."

Raven sighed when the pair had left, wings lazily flopping against the ground. The flames trapping Maxine and the others in the alleyway eventually died down, and the four spilled out into the street to check their friends were okay.

"Far out, dude..." Cassandra circled Raven, admiring her new extremities. "Can I... touch them?"

Raven flinched away from her - a knee jerk reaction she seemed to have developed already. "Ah... no, I'd rather you didn't…"

Kate, still standing behind Raven, reached out and stroked the black feathers. Raven shuddered, turning her back away from her friend, laughing nervously. Kate just gave her a confused puppy dog look.

"At least we know what's up with your back now!" Xanthos piped up.

"They're lovely." Violet complimented them, hooking her arm around her boyfriend's. Maxine shook her head and rubbed her face. She was REALLY going to need a drink later.

"Well, I think that's enough excitement for one night. Now let's go home before we cook. I don't know about you lot but I'm not up for fried wings any time soon."

The group chuckled and made their way home, Raven spending most of the walk avoiding Kate's hands and trying not to knock things over.

* * *

"Okay, how am I gonna do this..."

Raven stood in her bedroom, wearing nothing but a pair of black pyjama pants. She was the embodiment of androgyny with broad shoulders and a lean, toned build, standing just under six feet tall - her face and her voice also not giving any hints of leaning towards either gender. Her chest was flat and masculine, and the only way you'd be able to tell what her legal sex was would be if you scored a rare peek into her underwear. A.K.A. You'll never know. Besides, it was much more fun to watch people bend over backwards trying to figure it out anyway.

She threw her torn shirt across her dresser - it had taken Cassandra about ten minutes to cut her out of the damned thing - speculating how she would go about not injuring herself while she slept.

Her wings shuddered. Bones and flesh receded back to normal, feathers falling out and covering the room. "Huh.. Well I guess that solves that..."

The door slammed open. "Heyit'smecanItouchyour-AAWWWWWWWWWWWW!" Raven turned to see Kate, sad that her best friend's wings were gone. She smiled.

"Sorry, I'll try growing them back tomorrow."

Kate pouted before looking at the floor. "Ohey, feathers!"

Raven facepalmed as Kate sat down in the doorway and began counting all her feathers. It was going to be a long night.


End file.
